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By Frances West, IBM Our parents and grandparents represent one of the most complex societal and economic challenges facing nations as they struggle with increasing costs of healthcare and decreasing numbers of caregivers. People aged 60 and older currently make up approximately 12 percent of the global population, and by 2050, that number will rise to almost 22 percent, according to the United Nations . The challenge then becomes helping the elderly easily adapt to a technology-driven world, prolong their independence, stay more connected with friends and family, and help manage life’s everyday decisions. As we enter the  cognitive era , we have an incredible opportunity to augment our ability to better understand — and make more informed decisions — about our health, wealth and our overall happiness. Cognitive computing is a fundamentally new way for individuals and organizations to gain knowledge by “hearing” the complexities of natural language, “reading” and analyzing

By Mahmoud Naghshineh, IBM More than 90,000 people will convene at  Mobile World Congress  in Barcelona this week to learn about the latest in mobile tech. Besides checking out the hottest new devices, including the  Internet of Things  (IoT) and wearables, I expect attendees will be talking a lot about how mobility is creating new models for the enterprise, as well as pathways to greater efficiency and growth. We’ll be sharing our unique point of view on how the powerful combination of  cognitive computing  and mobility can serve up insights that change the way professionals and businesses work. We’ve launched more than  100 IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps , which has put  analytics  in the hands of professionals ranging from wealth advisors to flight attendants, first responders, nurses and sellers to help them make better decisions, deliver superior service and delight their customers. Clients are deploying  IBM MobileFirst for iOS  and we’ve seen exciting use cases w

By Harriet Green, IBM Billions of interconnected devices are gathering, analyzing and distributing vast stores of information from around the world. We call it the Internet of Things. These devices are embedded in everything from cars, store shelves, buildings and planes to wearable health monitors. But the value isn’t in the devices themselves, it’s in the  data the devices generate. And in the insights from the analytics of the data. By 2020, the IoT network will consist of more than 29 billion connected devices, according to IDC. But today, nearly 90 percent of the data generated by the IoT isn’t actually put to use. We are merely scratching the surface of the Internet of Things. For that reason, today IBM  announced  the opening of its global headquarters for Watson  Internet of Things  in Munich, Germany, launching a series of new offerings, capabilities and ecosystem partners designed to extend the power of  cognitive computing to the billions of connected devices, sens

Blake Oestriecher   ,   CONTRIBUTOR Dolph Ziggler did to Triple H exactly what WWE wishes Roman Reigns could do. On the March 14 edition of  Monday Night Raw,  Ziggler stepped up to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon of The Authority, and the crowd cheered Ziggler wildly as he put The Authority in its place and got himself a huge match against Triple H, making it clear in the process that he is the babyface while Triple H is the heel. NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 23: Dolph Ziggler and Alexander Rusev battle it out at  the WWE SummerSlam 2015 at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on August 23, 2015  in New York City. (Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images) Ziggler’s appearance in a storyline involving Triple H was certainly a bit random. It was totally unexpected, too. But it worked. Ziggler, despite being a complete afterthought on the road to WrestleMania 32 and despite ultimately losing to Triple H, was able to get the WWE fans behind him in a way that Reigns has clearly failed to do.

By  Chase Peterson-Withorn Thanks to sinking oil prices and rocky global stock markets, 2015 wasn’t the most lucrative year for billionaires. Although the number of ten-digit fortunes fell from 1,826 to 1,810 and majority of the world’s richest saw their wealth decline or stagnate, this year’s ten biggest dollar gainers added a collective $62.5 billion to their fortunes. While the typical billionaire’s net worth fell from $3.86 billion in 2015 to $3.58 billion in 2016, these ten best-performers gained $6.25 billion each on average. Mark Zuckerberg led the way, adding $11.2 billion to his net worth as Facebook shares rose 35%. The ubiquitous social network grew revenues 44% to $18 billion as it added 200 million new monthly active users. Zuckerberg, the world’s sixth-richest person with $44.6 billion, seems to be more active than ever, using his profile to share company news and family photos of his dog and newborn daughter, Max. This might be the last time Zuck is the biggest bil

Stories by Prince Osuagwu,  EXECUTIVE Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta recently assured the international community that Nigeria is putting up plans to use strong online presence through appreciable internet connectivity, to bridge the digital gulf between Africa and the rest of the developed world. He also challenged potential investors to make substantial investment in the Nigerian broadband ecosystem and see what a return on investment such an attempt could yield. Umaru Garba Danbatta, New NCC boss Danbatta spoke during a panel discussion in Barcelona, Spain, on the topic: “Is closing the digital divide in Sub-Saharan Africa myth or reality?” He assured the International Community that the NCC’s eight-point agenda has been carefully packaged to cushion all aspects of investments, especially “as we move to the next frontier of ICT revolution – broadband for internet connectivity.” The panel discussion was a part of the Regiona

Stories by Prince Osuagwu,  EXECUTIVE Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta recently assured the international community that Nigeria is putting up plans to use strong online presence through appreciable internet connectivity, to bridge the digital gulf between Africa and the rest of the developed world. He also challenged potential investors to make substantial investment in the Nigerian broadband ecosystem and see what a return on investment such an attempt could yield. Umaru Garba Danbatta, New NCC boss Danbatta spoke during a panel discussion in Barcelona, Spain, on the topic: “Is closing the digital divide in Sub-Saharan Africa myth or reality?” He assured the International Community that the NCC’s eight-point agenda has been carefully packaged to cushion all aspects of investments, especially “as we move to the next frontier of ICT revolution – broadband for internet connectivity.” The panel discussion was a part of the Regiona

By Chieko Asakawa, Ph.D., IBM Research – Tokyo Chieko Asakawa has dedicated her career as a computer scientist to helping blind people like herself live life to the fullest. In the 1980s, she developed a widely used word processor for Braille and a digital library for Braille documents. In the 1990s, she created a voice browser that enables blind people to access the Internet using text-to-speech translations. Now, working with scientists at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the IBM Fellow is developing technologies aimed at helping the blind “see” and interact more fully with the world around them. “I want technology to substitute for vision to help the blind manage in the real world,” says Chieko. “Blind people want to be independent, and I want to help achieve that goal.” She wants to be able to recognize friends who are walking towards her and greet them by name when they come near. She wants to know peoples’ emotional states when she speaks to them. And she wants to be